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When to winterize? How to handle those couple of cold days when still in camping season?

immanenceimmanence Member Posts: 100
in Heating/Plumbing & Winterizing
It is going to hit freezing temps at night on Sunday. And then again for 3 nights next week. I live in the south though, so much warmer during the days. We aren't don't for the season though. I read some people use an air compressor rather than antifreeze which makes it easier to winterize if it is for a short period?
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    dragonsdoflydragonsdofly Member Posts: 1,927
    @immanence don't know what model or year t@b you have, but we only use the blow out method. We use a very small compressor and utilize a pressure regulator to keep pressure below 50psi, just as you would for water in the plumbing. You blow air through each faucet, toilet and shower head until no more water comes out. Since we have a pre-nautilus camper, we disconnect the water pump too. We do place some rv antifreeze in the sink and shower traps as well as a bit in our gray and black tanks, working some into the gate valves. Easy peasy. We leave the low point drains open in winter. To de-winterize, you simply reattach your water pump and city water hose, or put water in your fresh tank.

    If you don't put the pink stuff in your fresh water tank and through the plumbing lines, there is no rinsing to get the antifreeze out. Just use water as normal. Should there be another cold snap, blow out the lines and get the rv antifreeze into the traps, gray and black tanks and the gate valves, unhook the water pump and you are ready for freezing temps again.

    If you have a cassette and nautilus, the procedure is slightly different, but also easy.

    For detailed information and/or step by step instructions, look in the categories column on the left side of the screen at manuals and resources. Much more info there.

    Good luck and much success to you. -Denise
    2017 t@b sofitel(Dr@gonsFly)TV 2015 Silverado 2500hd(Behemoth). Wyandotte, Michigan.
    Draco dormiens numquam titilandus.
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    Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,432
    edited November 2022
    We also only have an occasional freezing temps during the winter, which normally stays above 32F, so no hard freezing, except on some rare occasions. I do the drain tanks, low point drains open and clear the water out of the holding tanks and open the black/gray drain gate valves (leave a bucket under the drain pipe to catch any drips).  
    I quit blowing out the trailer’s water lines, the low point drains get 80-90% of the water out.  If a cold snap is forecast for temps below 35F, I turn the Alde on low and set the thermostat to 50F to keep the trailer cabin from getting too cold, and this keeps any residual water in the plumbing from freezing, including the water pump and toilet valves.  
    I did blow out the outside shower fittings and then turned off the inside cutoff valves (early TaB400 has outside shower stop valves under the closet floor), and have not used it since, so it does not have any water trapped in it to freeze.
     Cheers 
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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    immanenceimmanence Member Posts: 100
    I have a 2021 so I do have an alde system. I know there is a bypass if you are going to run antifreeze through the main tanks, which I don't plan on doing. If I blow out the water though, won't the alde system lose it's fluid for radiating heat? Or does that have fluid on a closed loop?
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    pthomas745pthomas745 Moderator Posts: 3,705
    @immanence tell us what model of trailer: a 2021 320 or 400? 
    How cold is it going to get? A few hours at 30 degrees is not a big deal.  Many hours well below freezing is a big deal.
    The Alde is perfectly usable with no water in the trailer.  It uses glycol to make heat, not water.
    So, tell us which trailer......if you are working on doing the "blowout" method there is plenty of info on appropriate compressors.  And, plenty of threads on "how to".
    So: how far below freezing, and for how long?  Maybe you don't "really" need to deal with this right this minute.
    What trailer?
    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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    Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,432
    The Alde heating system uses special glycol circulated from the boiler to the heating convectors in the trailer and is separate from the hot water system.  The hot water tank is heated by the glycol in an adjoining section of the tank, which in turn is heated by the electrical elements or the gas burner.  As noted above, you can still use the Alde for heat, if the water tank is drained, and/or system out in Bypass mode.
     Cheers 
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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    immanenceimmanence Member Posts: 100
    Awesome, thanks to you both. This is a 2021 tab 320. So the glycol doesn't need to be winterized, is that correct?

    So it sounds like blowing out the lines is sufficient for now. I am going to follow the guidelines provided regarding putting antifreeze in the p traps.
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    pthomas745pthomas745 Moderator Posts: 3,705
    It is more than just "putting antifreeze in the p-traps".  There are tanks to drain and valves to protect.
    This is the link to the winterizing manuals files.  Look for "Winterizing 104", which has a .pdf file that will run down the procedure(s) for winterizing.  One method is the "blow out method" that removes water in the plumbing with a compressor.  The other is the "full antifreeze" method that fills the trailer plumbing with antifreeze.
    The way you want to use your trailer, it seems, is to winterize when you need it, and dewinterize when the weather improves.  The "blow out" method is the one to use in this case.  Many owners use their trailers when winterized, no matter what method is used.

    Here are a bunch of threads on "Camping when winterized" that goes over the various strategies.






    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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    immanenceimmanence Member Posts: 100
    @pthomas745 thanks, that 104 thread is the one I followed. I used an air compressor to blow out the lines after draining all of the tanks.

    When you say valves to protect, what do you mean exactly? Is there something to be done beyond blowing out the lines here? Or are the valves protected by extricating as much liquid as possible?
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    Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,530
    @immanence - regarding “protecting valves” - pour antifreeze down the shower to both fill the p trap and to get some down into the gray tank.  Then, briefly open the gray tank gate valve and quickly close it.  This allows you to get antifreeze on the outside of the gate valve and protect it from freezing.  Leave the gray tank outlet cap on while you do this.  Remember, the first time you go to drain your gray tank, antifreeze is right behind the cap.
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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    immanenceimmanence Member Posts: 100
    @Sharon_is_SAM Oh nice I see, thanks! And I believe your original instructions said to do the same with the toilet? Let some antifreeze sit on top of the flap?
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    pthomas745pthomas745 Moderator Posts: 3,705
    @immanence Good for you!  Just wanted to make sure you were heading in the right direction!
    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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    Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,530
    edited November 2022
    Yes, with the cassette, just make sure all the water from the flush line is clear, remove and clean the cassette as directed by Thetford or the manual, then add some antifreeze to the toilet bowl to prevent the flap from drying out.
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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    immanenceimmanence Member Posts: 100
    Thanks all, much appreciated!
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    immanenceimmanence Member Posts: 100
    Hi all, 

    I had one follow up question here: when blowing out the lines, I kept it at about 45 psi to keep it under the 50 psi limit. With some drains, the water was forced out pretty noticeably, but with the sink faucet I could feel air coming through, but no water was forced out, and the air was pretty weak. 

    I'm wondering if I just didn't have enough air pressure, or if it was being let out somewhere else, or if this is just normal and there wasn't really any water in the lines?
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    qhumberdqhumberd Member Posts: 473
    I just finished my compressed air blow out on our 400 for the second time this season as we fit in a quick trip when it warmed up. I kept my pressure at 30 and found it sufficient but I did go back and do each line a couple of times. I did note the force of the air at the longest plumbing runs seems less, as this makes sense that going down more tubing has more friction and resistance to the air flow. But it still pushes out the water sufficiently I think. It is probably not a good idea to use too much pressure. I also note that with these lower pressures I allow the system to pressurize first with all taps closed, then open one and then re pressurize with each tap. As an additional precaution I then bypass the water heater and run pink antifreeze thru each tap. Probably not needed in my area of the country but takes only a bit longer and makes me feel better.

    2019  T@B400 Boondock Lite "Todd"

    2016 Toyota Tundra 5.7 Crew Cab
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    mjwaldnermjwaldner Member Posts: 44
    One thing I found on our 2021 Tab400 that you should be aware of. The hot and cold lines that go to the galley sink have backflow preventers under the sink. I was surprised by this. So if you just open the low point drains there will still be water in these lines. But blowing them out should still work.

    2021 400 BD / 2019 Honda Passport Elite / Nashville, TN
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